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An illegal worker holding Immigration recognisance form, was last Friday (February 26) jailed for seven months by Sha Tin Magistrates' Court. Holders of Immigration recognisance forms are not allowed to take up employment.
During an anti-illegal workers operation on January 7, a 36-year-old woman was found working in a restaurant at Yuen Long.
Investigations revealed that she was a former foreign domestic helper who was jailed in October 2008 for breaching her condition of stay. A removal order was served on her in December 2008 after her release from jail. She then lodged a torture claim, and was released on her own recognisance in January 2009. She was subsequently employed as an odd job worker serving customers at the Yuen Long restaurant. She was convicted last Friday of one count of taking employment while being a person in respect of whom a removal order was in force.
"The Immigration Department will continue to strengthen law enforcement to combat unlawful employment now that the Immigration (Amendment) Ordinance 2009 is in effect. It is an offence for illegal immigrants or people who are the subject of a removal order or a deportation order from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or from establishing or joining in any business. Offenders are liable to a fine of $50,000 and to imprisonment for three years," an Immigration spokesman said.
The spokesman appealed to employers not to employ illegal workers, warning that it was an offence to employ people who were not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is a fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years. To deter unlawful employment, the High Court laid down a sentencing guideline in 2004 reaffirming that it was a serious offence to employ someone who was not legally employable, and the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence.
Ends/Monday, March 1, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:11
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